Whip-socket fastener



UNITED STATES ALBERT E; HAWLEY, OF WESTFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

WHIP-SOCKET FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,281, dated March 9, 1880.

Application filed April 26, 1879.

' lowing is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a means of attachment for whip holder or socket that shall present no portion of itself to view, either upon the outside of the dash or upon its outer edge; that shall render it unnecessary to cut any hole through the dash; that shall require only one opening to be made in the leather of the dash, and that only through the inner covering of the rail, and that shall afford a strong and quickly-adjusted clamp to unite holder and dash.

In the drawings, Figure I is a side elevation of a portion of a dash having a socket secured to its rail. Fig. II is a section on x at, showing the clamp and its method of attachment. Fig. III is a detail view of the jaws of the clamp, and Fig. IV shows a portion of the dash prepared for the reception of the fastener.

In all of the fasteners in common use it is necessary to cut a hole through the leather of the dash to permit one portion to go outside of the dash, or to out two opposite holes in the leather surrounding the rail to enable the rail to be partially encircled from each edge, and in all of them in which a firm fastening is obtained holes have to be cut through the outside and the line of the edge of the dash is broken by the projection of portions of the fastener.

The corresponding clamp -.jaws b b are made to conform to the shape of the rail B, as shown in cross-section, Fig. II, the curve of the inner bearing-surface of the jaw b being preferably made slightly larger than that of one, 12, for the reason that it bears against the leather inclosing the rail, instead of coming in immediate contact with the rail, as does the section b; and the jaw 12 may be cast in one piece with the ring 0, or may be attached to it or any outside part of the body of the socket by rivet or bolt, or may formpart of a spring-band surrounding and holding the socket, it only being essential that it should be firmly united to the socket to form, in effect, a part thereof. The section b is provided with a shank, a, as shown in Figs. II and III, corresponding to the shank'a of the section b.

The sections or jaws of the clamp are alike,

excepting that the shank of the lower one, b, is provided with a screw, 01, made fast to it, and having its head sunk in or upset against the lower surface of shank a, so as to permit it to lie flat against the dash, while the upper one, I), is provided in its shank with a screwhole coming opposite to the screw d.

The screw is provided with a draw-nut, g, to come against the outer surface of shank a to complete the clamp, the operation of which is as follows: A single slit, y, for each clamp, to be used in connection with a socket, is made, as shown in Fig. IV, in the covering of the rail, and the solid jaw b is inserted to pass between the outer covering of the rail and the rail B itself, its curved part fitting snugly, as shown, .to one half of the rail, while its shank at, having the screw 01, remains outside and flat against the leather of the dash. The socket is then brought to have the jaw b come against the rail, and its covering opposite to the jaw b to have the screw pass through the corresponding hole in shank a, the nut 9. being then used to draw the jaws to firmly clamp the rail, and thus secure the socket in place.

1 thus provide a fastening of which nothing is visible upon the outside or edges of the dash, that requires no opening to be made through the dash and only one slit in the covering of the rail, which will close of itself when the clamp is removed, as, were two opposite slits made, the covering of the rail would be liable to buckle at that point and give access to moisture and dirt, besides generally injuring the appearance of the dash, as do holes through it, or clamp-marks upon its outer edges, and by virtually entirely encircling the rail with rigid jaws form a clamp that cannot work or wear loose.

What I claim is- As a' fastener for whip-holders, the clamp, formed of the jaw 12, having the elongated shank a, constructed to lie flat against the inner surface of the dash, and provided with the inward-projecting screw d, in combination with the jaw b of the socket, having the corresponding elongated shank a, to be received over the screw 61, to be drawn by the nut to inclose the rail, as shown and described.

ALBERT E. HAWLEY. 

